Gonzalez rolling in Atlanta (Nats fall 3-1)

Stop me if you've heard this before. The Nationals and Braves have played three innings and remain in a scoreless game. Gio Gonzalez settled down after a 29-pitch first inning when he loaded the bases to strikeout the side in the second inning. Overall, Gonzalez has seven strikeouts through the first three innings. The Nats offense has been held in check by Braves starter Alex Wood. Wood has allowed just two hits through three innings. Update: Just as I finished typing that last sentence, shortstop Ian Desmond lead off the fourth inning with a solo homer to give the Nats a 1-0 lead. Update II: Justin Upton led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run of his own to tie the game at 1-1. After retiring Jason Heyward, Gonzalez allowed back-to-back singles to Chris Johnson and Gerald Laird. Gonzalez then retired Ramiro Pena and Wood to end the inning. Update III: Denard Span extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a one-out double in the fifth. The double also extended his on-base streak to 36 consecutive games. In the bottom half of the frame, Gonzalez allowed the first two runners to reach base before getting Freddie Freeman to ground into a double play. Emilio Bonifacio moved to third on Freeman's double play. The Nats appeared to get out of the inning unscathed when Gonzalez got Jason Heyward to ground out to Adam LaRoche, but Gonzalez failed to cover first base, which allowed Bonifacio to score. Manager Matt Williams brought in Craig Stammen to replace Gonzalez with two down in the fifth. Gonzalez pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed two runs, struck out eight and walked four. The Braves lead 2-1 at the end of five innings. Update IV: Stammen pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out one and allowed a single to Wood in the sixth. The Nats chased Wood with one out in the eighth. He threw 7 1/3 innings, allowed five hits, one run, walked three and struck out 12. Jerry Blevins came in and pitched the seventh inning, where he struck out the side. He allowed an RBI single to Evan Gattis to extend the Braves' lead to 3-1. Per the Nationals PR department, Blevins struck out a career-high five batters. In the ninth, Bryce Harper, Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa faced Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel retired all three to earn the save. With the loss, the Nats fall to 63-53 and their lead in the National League East is down to 3 1/2 games. Gonzalez falls to 6-9 on the season.